Musings From A Musical Mind

Yesterday was a rare and beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest – the mountain (Mt. Rainier) was out and sky blue and cloudless. I got in my car and headed south to go and visit my daughter and son-in-law – and found myself in a parking lot of freeway traffic for an hour and a half – on what normally would have been a 25 minute trip.

I had never driven to my daughter’s new home before – only been a passenger, and like so many of us that are passengers – we just simply don’t pay very close attention to the exit signs. Greg told me which one – unfortunately I did not have his GPS and was confident that I could find it without one – after all, hadn’t I been there several times before? The exit sign looked different to me – and I was looking for a name that was in smaller print on the sign and therefore missed it all together – finding myself several exits south – in another town!

I was so distressed by this – the traffic was bad – the weather HOT and I pulled down a side road and called my daughter. She told me I had gone too far – and to get back on the freeway and go 2 more exits – just what to look for from the freeway and I would find it. I thought to myself, “there’s NO WAY I’m getting back on that crazy freeway” – but since there was no back road – I had no choice. So I turned the car around and made a left hand turn to go back to the on ramp of the freeway – following another car. When all of a sudden I realized that it was a ONE WAY STREET! The car ahead of me had made the same mistake and quickly got himself to the intersection and darted across to the other side without being noticed. Me, however – was NOT so quick – and I had cars from the oncoming lane HONKING AND YELLING and I’m sure one even gave me the finger too. It was most humiliating. So I made my way to that same intersection where the other car had magically disappeared – leaving me looking like an idiot – only I was STUCK THERE. There was NO WAY to get across – as I was clearly in the wrong place and there was no stop light for me. I must have sat there for a minute or two wondering what to do – and it seemed like HOURS! Finally I waited for the red light and no other cars coming from the other way – and I GUNNED it across the intersection with 3 cars sitting there GAPING at me. Yeah. It was stupid and gutsy and ridiculous – and I felt MORTIFIED – but I got through and eventually got on that stupid freeway again.

This is a true story – I made nothing up – how can you make stuff up like this?

Have you ever had this happen to you?

Do you ever feel like your going down a one way – on the wrong side of life?

Comments on: "Driving Opposite On A One-Way Road" (14)

First Day of Driving. Scary stuff! Everything seemed fine until my father told me to turn right so that I would start where I came from (I went in a circle). All of a sudden I car was driving on my right side, the side that I would be driving. Going back for a second circle, I found out that there had been a one-way Sign at the intersection and that I was driving the wrong way! At least this experience made me more careful and observant the next time I drove.

I was a 20 year old youth minister – my first job in the ministry. I took a church bus with about 50 kids in it from Northeast Fort Worth to Cleburne, TX. After the rally we attended, I turned the wrong way on a one way and didn’t realize it until I got to a stop light and saw only the back of it.

That was almost 30 years ago, and some of those ornery “kids” still won’t let me forget about it.

I’ve driven down many one-way streets (and a few of them I was actually going the right way!). 🙂

It’s funny how when we make a mistake like this, we obviously correct it as soon as possible but other mistakes we hold steady “out of principle” and suffer for it. You want to say, “Change course when you’re headed the wrong direction! No one is going to think less of you (probably quite the opposite).” Not that I can say much, I’ve tried to hold steady at the wrong times. It’s a mess! Thanks Cindy.

Thanks Jason – I don’t feel so bad. I’m always getting honked at it seems – but in life it is difficult to navigate down a one-way or dead-end road too – no one honks – but there are definitely signs that I’m doing something wrong!

I’ve never gone down the wrong way on a one-way street in a car, but I sure have in life! I pretty much do what I think is right and lots of others don’t share that opinion. I’ve always felt like an oddball, much like you felt to day. The older I get, the more comfortable I get with actually being the odd man out, though. As to getting flipped off, hey, I’m in Joisey. . . we don’t worry about things like that. It’s how most folks say hello here. ROFLOL

I think you’re the first person to admit that you have gone down the wrong way in life – against the grain. Me too – many times against popular opinion. You are not an oddball – I’ve down the same thing many times – maybe I need to come to New Jersey 🙂